A psychological thriller....but not scary in the least!!!

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2004)

First off, let me start by stating that I didn't hate this movie. It had a psychological edge that's not present in a lot of films of this genre, especially the living dead genre. But I have to go on by saying that I didn't quite enjoy this film either.
This film is very complex, and exhibits many different styles and allows the viewer to see just how big of a melting pot of cinema is responsible for Danny Boyle's foray into film. It stretches from the mad vision of Stanley Kubrick all the way to the films of George A. Romero. His post-apocalyptic vision of the U.K is perfect as it is startling. I can't imagine anything worse than waking from a semi-coma, naked in an empty hospital, and then wander out to find the usually bustling and loud streets to be ominously quiet and void of life, especially in the middle of the day.
Thats just exactly what happens to our hero in the story, Jim. He awakens 28 days into a killer plague, after an accident put's him into a slight coma. Groggy and in a sort of trance, Jim wanders into a local chapel to find it filled with the "infected". His ensuing escape from the "infected" is how we run into the heroine of our story, Selena. A rough and tumble brit who has been hardened by her own experiences of survival and her own tragedies of the plague. It is at this point where we discover the true nature of the destruction of life as they knew it. This is where Jim is made aware of the startling reality that his family are in all probability dead, as is all of Jim's friends, and co-workers.
Now, I'm not going to delve into any more of the story as most have probably seen this film. So let me just analyze what I took away from this picture. For one, THIS IS NOT A ZOMBIE MOVIE!!!! A lot of people like to label it as such when it clearly IS NOT. These people are clearly infected with a disorienting and violent disease and are blissfully unaware of what they are doing, imagine an mega version of rabies, but they are certainly ALIVE! I came into this film expecting to see a zombie flick, with our heroes being chased through the streets of London by legions of the living dead. This film is far from it.
I was not "scared" by this film. It was a psychological thriller on some levels, especially because I would not want to go through what our heroes went through to survive. I guess it taps into our most basic primal instinct, survival. No one want's to imagine a life in our day and age where we must fight and fend off brutal attacks by mindless hordes on a near daily basis. But that was the extent of the "horror" of the film.
This movie was neither a horror film, nor terrifying. It didn't have the shock factor of "The Exorcist", nor did it have the psychological edge of "The Silence of the Lambs". It kinda slipped through the cracks and lies somewhere in the middle.
Before I saw this film, I had heard a lot of people proclaiming this to be one of the scariest films of all time, this is far from the truth. This film was only moderately scary if not at all. The plot was predictable, the "infected" were no more scary than they were Zombies, and the story progressed too slowly. One of the keys of a good horror film is the quick progression through character development to the life and death struggle with a homicidal madman or madmen. The only exception to this rule may be John Carpenters original, "Halloween" (1978). Carpenter used timing masterfully in that film and that is why "Halloween" has withstood the test of time And the hordes of sequels and copycats it spawned. "Halloween" began methodically as it built up to it's heart-pounding climax. 28 days later... on the other hand, started slow and ended slow. This may just be the style of an eccentric filmmaker, but it makes for a poor suspense film.
Again, let me sum up that this is not a Zombie film. If you want a gory Zombie film full of scares, I would recommend anything from George Romero, or better yet, just check out Tom Savini's masterful 1990 remake of Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead". It takes Romero's original characters and ideas and adds a bit of style and flair to it, not to mention great special effects by the master of gore, Tom Savini. You could also check out the new "Dawn of the Dead". It is good as well, especially if you want a more up to date version of the living dead films. It starts off with a bang and never looks back. But for a slow moving, tedious attempt at a suspense thriller check out 28 days later...., but be careful, do not attempt to operate heavy machinery or drive while watching this film, it could put you right to sleep.